I Have 'the Loudest' Family In Los

[jaideeguy]

My original perception of Thais [and especially Thai women] was that they were quiet and subdued and after being married for 6+ yrs, my perception has changed radically after observing my wife and her mother and now the daughter as being the loudest humans I've ever been around. Nothing is said in soft tones, most conversations are yelling and I'm constantly saying 'bow bow' to quiten them. Even in a small room, [not a meter apart] they will yell.

Is it just my wife's family with the 'loud genes' or do other's married to Thais notice the same???

or is it just me??

[adjan jb]

Same same.

[xerostar]

I think it's common in any large family, in any country.

The siblings find that they need to be loud to get heard, so by increasing their loudness

they get noticed first.

Also the more excited they get, the louder they get. Enthusiasm I guess!

The quiet ones don't get noticed and get left out of the conversation all together.

Thais don't have the same customs regarding "manners" as westerners do (as you know).

So being loud is not considered bad manners.

They would only consider it bad manners if the person speaks ill of someone else. (royalty in particular !)

Not being loud enough is considered a weakness.

I often find myself gesticulating when my wife is on the phone. (keep it down will ya, shhhh!)

If she gets excited, she gets louder and louder.

[toptuan]

I don't think you can use such a broad brush to paint Thais either way. The lady at a small cafe where I usually eat, can blow a water buffalo off its feet with her constant yells. She never talks. Only yells. One time, it was about 1 meter from my ear and I nearly ate all my noodles in one inhalation.

Some of my Thai friends who come to eat with me are embarrassed by her behavior.

Not same, same. Different, definitely.

[manutoo]

Isn't there a giant context all around this country to be the loudest possible, by any necessary means..?

[Sir Burr]

When the missus calls a friend on the telephone, it seems that the further away they are gepgraphicly, the louder she talks.....

[Riley'sLife]

Whenever I take the family (the wife's cousins, aunts,etc.) on a trip in my truck they fill the back seat first with usually six or seven people (!!) then the overflow climbs in the back of the pickup. What amazes me is not only how loud they talk, but they all talk at the same time, talking over each other. How they can understand each other is a mystery, but they seem to. I can put up with it for about 20 minutes max, then I have to drown them all out with some serious loud music (Heavy Metal usually shuts them up).

[Boo]

I did a 7hr drive in a pickup truck with 2 thai women, my baby son & a 7 year old girl child & after about an hour I wanted to rip my own ears off, my baby slept most of the trip, probably didnt bother crying cause he knew he wouldnt be heard over the constant, million decibel chatter & by the time we reached Khon Kaen my head was splitting & I had to go sit alone in a room for a while just to get my head to stop ringing. My inlaws shout everything to each other, I will get up & go to another room to ask a question if someone is there, they just yell, 6am, 10pm, no matter what time of the day. Drives me mad!!!

[torrenova]

To me it is a Chinese thing. Go live in China and notice how the loudest are listened to whilst the quiet ones are overlooked. Sort of like hatchlings in a nest.

[bina]

try here with me.... once we had danish visitors and they asked me why israelis are so angry all the time cause they're always shouting... ) even the thais here, who dont like to be yelled at directly of course, have learned that loud talking at u is not = to yelling, its just talk at top volume... and put a group of thai males in a room, and its all top of the lungs talking...

i live in a loud country so dont notice but do notice how quiet it was when i was in the states and my mom kept saying, stop yelling.....

middle east, and asia and mediterranean seem to be the loudest groups...

bina

[jaideeguy]

"put a group of thai males in a room, and its all top of the lungs talking... "

put a group of Thai WOMEN together in one room and you need ear plugs!! put a microphone [or cel phone] in a Thai's hand and it's full volume. Not gender related, please!! it's asian, as philipinos are the same when it comes to loudness, only their speakers are usually blown out from blasting at full volume.

In the west, we tell out children to 'be seen, but not heard', here it's the opposite

[londonthai]

with me it's different - my second part (thai) often tells me not to speak loud because it's rude, 'low class'. Her parent's, farmers, teached her even to walk quietly.

the voice usually tells not only about the culture but nature of the person